The maids at Eagle Fortress were all diligent. The bed was spotless, and a one-foot-tall bear-shaped cloth doll rested quietly on the sky-blue linen sheets, sewn from soft cotton with dense, orderly stitches.
The cotton had been washed until it had yellowed, showing its age, but it was clearly maintained with great care, giving off a reassuring sense of age.
Fiona sat gently on the bed, hugged the cloth bear to her chest, rubbed her cheek against its ear, and smiled serenely.
"Little Baoli, you're still the best..."
After a while, she stood up and placed the cloth bear neatly on the dressing table, then pulled a long strip of cloth from her pocket and unfolded it.
The strip was covered in words and phrases, such as "I have no appetite," "I'm honored to meet you," and "Thank you for your generosity."
Some of the short sentences and words had check marks after them. Others had been checked and then crossed out, while most were still blank.
After carefully reading one of the phrases, Fiona cleared her throat, raised her head, and suddenly bowed deeply to the cloth bear. Then she said respectfully, "Respected, respe..."
After only two syllables, she began to stumble over her words. She had no choice but to lower her head and look again. This time, she seemed to have memorized it. With a trace of confidence, she looked up. "Respected Lord Bar... Bar... Bar—"
Still wrong!
A flash of frustration crossed Fiona's face.
She was not a stutterer, nor did she not know what she was supposed to say. She remembered the words perfectly, but the moment she opened her mouth, her mind went completely blank.
Especially when she treated this cloth bear named Baoli as Raven.
She sighed dejectedly and lowered her head. Then